Instinctive Wholeness: Street Photography, Anti-Composition and Gestalt Psychology

Today I want to propose you this photograph:

This image perfectly embodies my approach to black and white street photography, where the urgency of the moment takes precedence over any predefined compositional rules. Photography here is born from an instinctive act, free from the obsession with formal precision, and driven by the desire to capture the chaos of everyday life as it unfolds, raw, unfiltered, and unaltered by visual conventions.

Anti-Composition and Urgency

Anti-composition in this photograph doesn't equate to disorder; rather, it's a rejection of rigid rules that too often limit creative freedom. There’s no intention to perfectly arrange the elements; instead, the goal is to react to the scene with immediacy. The framing is deliberately “off-balance,” with subjects moving in different directions, each immersed in their own world. This allows for the expression of a more authentic, less controlled truth: the ever-shifting chaos of urban life.

Gestalt psychology comes into play here: I am not merely photographing separate, unrelated elements, but rather the relationships and interactions between them. The whole scene, the figures, the urban textures, the movement, comes together as a unified experience, greater than the sum of its parts. Even without consciously thinking about it, the visual elements connect and speak to each other, creating an emergent meaning that goes beyond any single subject in the frame. I think my photography many times is to aim to create a feeling a dystonia where 2 or 3 situations are connected in the photograph only thanks to the fact I included all in the same frame and not because of a real connection. That provokes different levels of reasings for the viewer. It is just like the experience of observing in the real world.

Black and White: Essence Without Distractions

The absence of color is crucial in this photograph. Black and white strips away any distractions, forcing the eye to focus on what truly matters: gestures, expressions, textures, and interactions. In a way, black and white is also a form of anti-composition, as it removes one dimension (color) to direct greater attention to the structural and human elements.

From a Gestalt perspective, the lack of color heightens the interplay of light and shadow, figure and ground. By simplifying the visual elements, it emphasizes the natural groupings and contrasts within the frame. The viewer instinctively makes connections and fills in gaps, creating a cohesive whole from what might seem like disparate, unplanned elements.

A "Dirty" Photograph

The texture of the urban setting, with its graffiti, market stalls, and worn-out architectural elements, contributes to what I’d call a “dirty” photograph, far removed from the polished perfection we often see in contemporary photography. This “dirt” isn’t a flaw: it’s a quality that makes the photo feel alive, real, and immediate. There’s nothing staged here, only reality as it presents itself in front of my lens, captured with the speed and urgency of the moment. I am not waiting like other photographers do on the street, it is just stop myself and little and capturing a scene. I don't get caught in the Webb. I am Alex Street and that is my vision and approach.

In this chaotic, textured environment, Gestalt's law of Prägnanz applies: the mind naturally seeks simplicity and structure, even in complex or "messy" scenes. The image may seem cluttered at first glance, but it invites the viewer to make sense of the visual patterns and connections, engaging them in the photographic process.

Instinct Above All

My photography doesn’t follow rules; it responds to an impulse. My work is made up of reactions, not preparations. What you see here is the result of a process that unfolds in an instant, where every decision is intuitive and visceral. In this image, as in many others, it is instinct that guides my eye and hand, capturing fleeting moments in the urban chaos, where everything moves and changes in the blink of an eye.

Gestalt psychology reinforces this instinct-driven approach. The mind is wired to perceive scenes holistically, not in isolated fragments. Even without conscious planning, my instinct taps into this ability to capture the totality of a moment, the connections, contrasts, and energies at play in the frame, allowing the viewer to experience the image as a unified whole.

I design what is in the frame in a deliberate way that becomes mine: I make the scene and I don't let the scene impose on me. And I do it with the precise intention of framing in a way that others wouldn't. That is my way to write my photography, my trademark.

Final thoughts

In street photography, as in life, moments are fleeting and often messy. Yet within that chaos, there’s an inherent order waiting to be revealed, if we let instinct guide us. By embracing anti-composition and rejecting the rigid frameworks of conventional photography, we allow the natural flow of the street to emerge in its most authentic form. That is where my photography points out. It is the world, but is also the Alex Street world. It is my street photography, so it is my Gonzography where my presence is suggested through my way to offer you a way to see.

Drawing on principles from Gestalt psychology, my approach seeks to capture the whole scene: the subtle interactions, patterns, and contrasts that exist beyond individual subjects. In this sense, photography becomes less about what is planned or posed, and more about what unfolds in front of us, naturally, in real time.

The spontaneity of black and white emphasizes this totality, stripping away the unnecessary and highlighting the raw essence of human experience. Through instinct, the camera becomes a tool not for control, but for observation, creating a dialogue between the photographer, the subject, and the viewer. In this dialogue, we find meaning in the unexpected, beauty in the unpolished, and coherence in what might first seem like chaos.

Last note is about the plan is inclined: today, in the world of today, the inclined plan is not something so proposed by photographers and this therefore marks my desire to distance myself from this dimension of excessively clean and affected photographers who live for photographic competitions. I do the opposite.